Phonics, Syllable and Accent Rules

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Phonics Rules
The vowels are "a,e,i,o, and u"; also sometimes "y" & "w". This also includes the
diphthongs "oi,oy,ou,ow,au,aw, oo" and many others.
The consonants are all the other letters which stop or limit the flow of air from the
throat in speech. They are: "b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,qu,r,s,t,v,w,x,y,z,ch,sh,th,ph,wh,
ng, and gh".
1. Sometimes the rules don't work.
There are many exceptions in English because of the vastness of the language and
the many languages from which it has borrowed. The rules do work however, in the
majority of the words.
2. Every syllable in every word must have a vowel.
English is a "vocal" language; Every word must have a vowel.
3. "C" followed by "e, i or y" usually has the soft sound of "s". Examples:
"cyst", "central", and "city".
4. "G" followed by "e, i or y" usually has the soft sound of "j". Example:
"gem", "gym", and "gist".
5. When 2 consonants are joined together and form one new sound, they
are a consonant digraph. They count as one sound and one letter and are never
separated. Examples: "ch,sh,th,ph and wh".
6. When a syllable ends in a consonant and has only one vowel, that vowel
is short. Examples: "fat, bed, fish, spot, luck".
7. When a syllable ends in a silent "e", the silent "e" is a signal that the
vowel in front of it is long. Examples: "make, gene, kite, rope, and use".
8. When a syllable has 2 vowels together, the first vowel is usually long
and the second is silent. Examples: "pain, eat, boat, res/cue, say, grow". NOTE:
Diphthongs don't follow this rule; In a diphthong, the vowels blend together to
create a single new sound. The diphthongs are: "oi,oy,ou,ow,au,aw, oo" and many
others.

9. When a syllable ends in any vowel and is the only vowel, that vowel is
usually long. Examples: "pa/per, me, I, o/pen, u/nit, and my".
10. When a vowel is followed by an "r" in the same syllable, that vowel is
"r-controlled". It is not long nor short. "R-controlled "er,ir,and ur" often sound the
same (like "er"). Examples: "term, sir, fir, fur, far, for, su/gar, or/der".

Basic Syllable Rules

1. To find the number of syllables:
---count the vowels in the word,
---subtract any silent vowels, (like the silent "e" at the end of a word or the
second vowel when two vowels a together in a syllable)
---subtract one vowel from every diphthong, (diphthongs only count as one
vowel sound.)
---the number of vowels sounds left is the same as the number of
syllables.
The number of syllables that you hear when you pronounce a word is the same as
the number of vowels sounds heard. For example:
The word "came" has 2 vowels, but the "e" is silent, leaving one vowel sound
andone syllable.
The word "outside" has 4 vowels, but the "e" is silent and the "ou" is a diphthong
which counts as only one sound, so this word has only two vowels sounds and
therefore, two syllables.
2. Divide between two middle consonants.
Split up words that have two middle consonants. For example:
hap/pen, bas/ket, let/ter, sup/per, din/ner, and Den/nis. The only exceptions
are the consonant digraphs. Never split up consonant digraphs as they really
represent only one sound. The exceptions are "th", "sh", "ph", "th", "ch", and "wh".
3. Usually divide before a single middle consonant.
When there is only one syllable, you usually divide in front of it, as in:
"o/pen", "i/tem", "e/vil", and "re/port". The only exceptions are those times
when the first syllable has an obvious short sound, as in "cab/in".
4. Divide before the consonant before an "-le" syllable.
When you have a word that has the old-style spelling in which the "-le" sounds like
"-el", divide before the consonant before the "-le". For example: "a/ble",
"fum/ble", "rub/ble" "mum/ble" and "this/tle". The only exception to this are
"ckle" words like "tick/le".

5. Divide off any compound words, prefixes, suffixes and roots which have
vowel sounds.
Split off the parts of compound words like "sports/car" and "house/boat". Divide off
prefixes such at "un/happy", "pre/paid", or "re/write". Also divide off suffixes as in
the words "farm/er", "teach/er", "hope/less" and "care/ful". In the word "stop/ping",
the suffix is actually "-ping" because this word follows the rule that when you add "ing" to a word with one syllable, you double the last consonant and add the "-ing".

Accent Rules
When a word has more than one syllable, one of the syllables is always a little
louder than the others. The syllable with the louder stress is the accented syllable. It
may seem that the placement of accents in words is often random or accidental, but
these are some rules that usually work.
1. Accents are often on the first syllable. Examples: ba'/sic, pro'/gram.
2. In words that have suffixes or prefixes, the accent is usually on the main root
word. Examples: box'/es, un/tie'.
3. If de-, re-, ex-, in-,po-, pro-, or a- is the first syllable in a word, it is usually not
accented. Examples: de/lay', ex/plore'.
4. Two vowel letters together in the last syllable of a word often indicates an
accented last syllable. Examples: com/plain', con/ceal'.
5. When there are two like consonant letters within a word, the syllable before the
double consonants is usually accented. Examples: be/gin'/ner, let'/ter.
6. The accent is usually on the syllable before the suffixes -ion, ity, -ic, -ical, -ian,
-ial, or -ious, and on the second syllable before the suffix -ate. Examples:
af/fec/ta'/tion, dif/fer/en'/ti/ate.
7. In words of three or more syllables, one of the first two syllables is usually
accented. Examples: ac'/ci/dent, de/ter'/mine.

Syllable Division Rules

1. Separate prefixes, suffixes, and root words

o

pre/view, work/ing, re/do, end/less, out/side

2. Are two consonants next to each other? Divide in between them

consonant = a letter that is not a vowel

buf/fet, des/sert, ob/ject, ber/ry, fer/ry

3. Never split 2 consonants that (when pronounced together) make only 1 sound
o

"th", "sh", "ph", "th", "ch", and "wh"

4. Is the consonant surrounded by vowels?

o

Does the 1st vowel have a long sound? (Like the 'i' in line)

Divide before the consonant.

ba/by, re/sult, i/vy, fro/zen, Cu/pid

Does the 1st vowel have a short sound? (Like the 'i' in mill)

Divide after the consonant.

rav/age, met/al, riv/er, mod/el, cur/tal

5. Is there a 'ckle' in the word? Divide right before the 'le'.

o

tack/le, freck/le, tick/le, buck/le

6. Is there a 'le' (no 'ck' in front)? Divide 1 letter before the 'le'.
o

ap/ple, rum/ble, fa/ble, ta/ble

What's the difference between

Whether and Weather?

Examples:

little: lit / tle

petal: pet / al

turtle: tur / tle

ankle: an / kle

riddle: rid / dle

arrow: ar / row

nickle: nick / le

cotton: cot / ton

student: stu / dent

teacher: teach / er

children: chil / dren

pottery: pot / ter / y

learning: learn / ing

textbook: text / book

watching: watch / ing

screaming: scream / ing

misbehaving: mis / be / hav / ing